Vikings stadium construction bids higher than expected

A rendering of the exterior of the new Vikings stadium, dated May 13, 2013. (Courtesy Minnesota Vikings)

Higher-than-expected bids are prompting a delay in setting a guaranteed maximum price for the new Minnesota Vikings stadium, but the project remains on track for a July 1, 2016, opening, the head of the stadium authority said Wednesday.

There is $738 million in the $975 million total project budget that's allotted to stadium construction.

Michele Kelm-Helgen, chairwoman of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, said it's hard to estimate how much over the $738 million the bids are coming in because figures fluctuate, but she said it's about $10 million to $25 million.

A price guarantee was to have been finalized last week, but it's unlikely to come even this week, Kelm-Helgen said.

The delay could affect timing of the sale of $498 million in public bonds for the project, which will replace the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis.

State budget officials have previously said that in order to sell bonds this month as expected, they would have needed the price to be set and the Vikings to have finalized their $477 million in private financing by Nov. 1.

Delays could mean the bond documents might be affected by the November state budget forecast and the sale might have to be put off, likely till January.

State budget authorities could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but Kelm-Helgen said that even if the public bonds are not sold in November, the construction schedule will not be delayed.

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That's because the state would offer a "grant agreement" committing itself to the bond sale, which would help allow the team to close and also allow key purchases to move ahead, including an order for $6 million to $8 million worth of steel that must be placed by mid-November.

The construction schedule could be delayed if the guaranteed maximum price isn't set for a few weeks, Kelm-Helgen said, but she said she's hopeful it won't take that long.

Authority officials along with the Vikings, construction manager Mortenson Construction and architect HKS are reviewing the bids and discussing design changes to save money.

"We also have assumptions and general conditions that we're trying to run down as well," said Lester Bagley, Vikings vice president of public affairs and stadium development. "There are insurance issues, there are environmental issues, there are all these things that we're trying to determine with certainty in order to agree upon a guaranteed maximum price."

Kelm-Helgen and Bagley said none of the signature elements of the stadium have been cut as part of the trimming process.

The guaranteed maximum price, once it is set, represents a commitment from Mortenson to bring the project in at that price.

"It's very important that we get this right," said Kelm-Helgen. "We're getting close."

"We're working through it and we're optimistic that we'll get there and that it will allow the project to stay on schedule," Bagley said. "It is taking longer than we had hoped, but it's a complex deal. It's got moving parts. It's got a team, a stadium authority, a builder, an architect all trying to squeeze this into a budget that we can all agree on."